Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray.

Mount St Benedict is for many people the mountain where they go to pray. Some go alone regularly. In the peaceful atmosphere they are renewed to face the challenges of their daily life. Sometimes they take others with them, others who are significant in their lives, others who are facing - or about to face - some special challenge.

As the time for the SEA exam approaches, many parents or grandparents will take their children to “the Mount”, parents with their own concerns, fears, anxieties, hopes, expectations for their child and his/her future.

Perhaps they have tried to get their child to grasp the need for discipline, self-denial, taking up the cross of regular conscientious attention to studies, but they sense that this has gone over the heads of the little ones.

The “cross” may be very present in their own parental consciousness as they reach out to embrace whatever might give their child a better opportunity for a fuller life. But it is not so easy for an eleven-year-old to understand.

The parents take with them Peter, John and James, their children, and go up the mountain to pray. On that mountain the parents appear to their children in a different light; as they pray, the aspect of their face is changed. It is a special moment.

Perhaps the children with them are heavy with sleep from getting up early but they “stay awake” and see Moses–the Lawgiver-and Elijah-the Prophet - appearing in glory with Jesus. All they have ever learnt about what is right and wrong, what they should and should not do, all the Law and the Prophets, all is present to them now in a different way.

They get a glimpse of something that makes them wish to stay there rather than going home. They can’t put their experience into words that make sense. Then a cloud comes and covers them in shadow. Just for a moment they have an experience of God’s presence. Perhaps they feel afraid.

God says to them: “This is My Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him”. Then it is over. It is just themselves, the parents/grandparents and children, going back down the mountain to face the challenge ahead, but they have the assurance that with them is God’s Son, the Chosen One of God.

Often the mountain we go up is not an actual mountain but some place where we go at specific times to find a quiet space where things become clearer to us and our relationship with God is deepened.

Sometimes the mountain is not a place to which we choose to go, but an experience (perhaps the move to a new neighbourhood or strange country, serious illness, the death of a loved one, loss of a home); we are led away from our everyday setting and into a setting in which we witness the “prayer” of someone close to us, someone who is facing a personal crisis and we come to know and appreciate this person in a deeper way, drawing strength ourselves to face our own crises.

What are our experiences of going up the “mountain” to pray? What is the “mountain” where we go to pray? Who are the ones that we take with us? When were we taken up the mountain? What took place there? How were we strengthened as we went back down the mountain?

Let us pray
Loving God! Thank you for the “mountains” where we have met you and been strengthened by the experience. Thank you for those who, as they go “up the mountain to pray”, take others with them so these too can be strengthened.

Thank you for those who, at different times over the years, have taken us with them. They opened themselves to us and when the “cloud” covered them, it covered us also and we heard your voice.

As we went back down we were bonded by the specialness of that experience. How could we speak of it to anyone else? How could we speak of something which we ourselves did not understand?

We kept silence and in the silence drew strength for the future. We had the memory of “Moses and Elijah” speaking of what was to take place. Later we would understand.

Sometimes we get exasperated when people – especially those close to us – do not understand what we are saying. Forgive us our impatience.

Help us to trust enough to take them with us as we go up the mountain to pray, allowing them to share this time with us, knowing that, no matter how “heavy with sleep” they might seem, if they stay awake they will see your glory.

Help us as a people to grow in trust of each other. Lead us to the mountain where we will see each other in a new light, where the cloud will cover us all with its shadow and your voice will speak in our hearts. Amen

Christina Araujo OP is a Sinsinawan Dominican who presently coordinates the Total Parish Catechesis programme in the Holy Rosary/St Martin de Porres parish.